Classification of Dahlias

Classification of Dahlias

Preface:

It is an arrogance to classify the miracles that Mother Nature continues to create, as if we could stop time and keep something apart from the whole. It seems to me that classification is a feeble attempt at understand natural selection, or it follows the feeble attempts of Adam to understand the universe by naming things. (The Ego feels good if It "understands" the unfathomable...)  In our society we seek to be the first one to capture a photo so we can copyright it, as if we owned it, yes, all rights to it, so others would pay to see it. :-) Indeed an arrogance.

Yet, knowing the above, if we want to do it as an intellectual exercise, Classification is a difficult task for a number of reasons. The first is, we can only classify what we have seen, and the human experience is so small within the earth's timetable. All the past variations we have never seen or those that will yet develop will be missed by the system we create today.  Since everyone sees in their own way, colours are not seen the same by all individuals. In fact photographs are even more prone to be shown in the wrong colours on the web because of technical issues in both the quality of the original picture, the quality of the scan (if scanned), the quality of the picture encoding, the resolution of the picture, and the quality of the video card and monitor used to see the picture. This is changing with the advent of Apple's new 5K screens, but everyone can not afford such luxury. Once the quality of website photos and the average computer screen matches that of the Apple, then there will be less need of a classification system, as pictures will tell a more true story... then it will be the variations in the individual personality seeing the reflections of light being interpreted by their brain. Alas, classification is for books.

The ADS (American Dahlia Society) web site is the best current attempt on the web today, which tries to classify the broad range of Dahlia variations found in the USA. ADS began in 1915 so this is probably the reason why it is the best and why North America focuses on this Dahlia Society. I have been a member since 2017, and the more I understand their efforts, the more I appreciate them.

Yet their online Classification Manual also is an example of inadequate technology, with the use of "older" (poor) quality scans, so that in many cases the actual picture of the bloom that is shown, is reproduced in the wrong colour, and in a very poor resolution.

Then there are flowers that fit into different classification groups at the same time, so you need a "Society" to judge the flower and decide which group it should fit into. Problems like this persist in both the American (ADS) and the International Systems of classification.

If you compare the systems you find on the web, you might decide to begin your own. This is a comparison I did.

In my view, they are all inadequate because they do not classify the stem -whether it breaks when it rains, or not. They also do not classify the plant size. Are miniature dahlias small plants or small flowers on tall plants?

My ideal Classification system for me would consider  FIVE characteristics because I don't need to convince a committee :-)

Bloom Diameter - Bloom Form  - Bloom Colour  -stem strength - plant height

Now others who have a sensitive nose, might like to classify by smell as well, even though a very rare dahlias have smells humans can easily detect.

Now my advice in all this is to forget Classification all together and loose your self in the beauty of each bloom. If you can't quite do this, then continue through this maze of classification ideas, but keep as your goal: "to loose yourself in the simple beauty of each bloom."

Classification Systems Currently Used:

The ADS (American Dahlia Society) web site is the oldest attempt at classifying the blooms  on the web today. It classifies a broad range of Dahlia variations grown in the USA today. In general, they use three sets of codes to indicate:

Bloom Size  +  Bloom Form  +  Bloom Colour

but sub-type numbers are cropping into their system and sometimes, as in the case of their Pompom classification, form is mixed with size.

In 2011, ADS changed their classification system to four  codes.

Here is a chart which is supposed to simplify this classification system.

While the ADS web site has inadequate pictures, here are two links that provide very good pictures to identify cultivars:

1. Dahlia Catalog  is a very good list from the Colorado Dahlia Society, of cultivars sorted by name, with the picture and the ADS designation for each.
2.  Société québécoise du Dahlia also have a good list of cultivars their members have, including good pictures. 
3. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Dahlia_cultivars is a free site that has good photos but little information on what classification system they are following.

FORM of the flowers

The International Dahlia Registrar (of the Royal Horticultural Society), being that it is a newer attempt at Classification, seem to make more sense, compared to the ADS system which mixes size and form in the "BA" designation (for Ball type). On the other hand the International System does not recognize the informal Decorative designation, seeing these forms as either in their "Miscellaneous" or their "Decorative" designation.

Nevertheless, when we are looking for new cultivars for our garden, we need to have some idea of the ADS Classification. Here below are their current codes for the form of the flower. Below the chart we have included examples from our garden, although not every form code is represented.

Form Codes (from ADS System)

Code	Description
AN	Anemone-flowered
BA	Ball
C	Straight Cactus
CO	Collarette
FD	Formal Decorative
IC	Incurved Cactus
ID	Informal Decorative
LC	Laciniated
MB	Miniature Ball
MS	Mignon Single
N	Novelty
NO	Novelty Open
NX	Novelty Fully Double
O	Orchid-flowering
OT	Orchette
P	Pompon
PE	Peony-flowering
S	Single
SC	Semi-Cactus
ST	Stellar
WL	Water Lily

Single flowers are the simplest form, having one row of petals (florets). Below is an example from the cultivar: Aragon. Click on the picture to see it bigger.

Anemone flowers have more complex centres.

• Soulman is an example:

• Alphen-Pearl (below) is also another example:

Collerette flowers have another set of florets at the centre. Mary Evaline is an example:

picture to be posted....

Waterlily forms are somewhat flat but open. Berliner Kleene is an example.

Formal Decorative. Edna C is an example. I have some this year, and hope to get blooms for the first time. This is not my picture of this cultivar.

Ball forms are complete balls. Ryncroft Delight is an example.

Cactus forms are very distinctive with long curved florets. Summer Night is an example.

Semi-Cactus.  Examples from our garden include:

• Just Peachy, 

• Mingus Gregory, and

• Embrace

Informal Decorative (ADS System). Example in this category is Ben Huston, and Orion:

Comparison of Bloom Forms Between Classification Systems

My System	ADS System	International System	Examples from our garden
Single	S	1. Single	Sunshine, Aragon
Anemone	AN	2. Anemone	Soulman, Alphen Pearl
Collerette	CO	3. Collerette	Mary Evelyn BB C R
Waterlily	WL	4. Waterlily	Berliner Klein
Decorative	FD (Formal Decorative)	5. Decorative	Orion
Ball	B	6. Ball	Kenora Amythist
Pompom	P	7. Pompom
Cactus	C	8. Cactus	Rejman's Firecracker
Semi-Cactus	SC	9. Semi-Cactus	Just Peachy, Mingus Gregory, Embrace
Misc.		10. Miscellaneous	Orkney
Fimbriated	LC (Lacerated)	11. Fimbriated	Show n Tell
Double Orchid		12. Double Orchid
Paeony		13. Paeony Flowered	Open Soul Orange
Star	O (Orchid)	14. Star	Rupi's ruby Star
	Informal Decorative (ID)	fits into FD	Mingus Gregory, Gitts Perfection,

Colour Codes (ADS)

Here is a link to the ADS discussion on colour classification.

Code	Description	Examples from Our Garden
BI	Bicolor	bicolor example
BR	Bronze	bicolor example
DB	Dark Blend	bicolor example
DP	Dark Pink	Rimbaud: B ID DP
DR	Dark Red	Mary Evelyn BB C R
FL	Flame Blend	bicolor example
L	Lavender	bicolor example
LB	Light Blend	bicolor example
OR	Orange	Hollyhill Tangerine BB SC OR
PK	Pink	bicolor example
PR	Purple	bicolor example
R	Red	Red Pigmy: R
V	Variegated	Alphen Pearl: LV
W	White	Verda: W WH(Quebec) W (ADS)
Y	Yellow	Ryecroft Delight: YL/DP

Resources:

American Dahlia Society.

Here is the Quebec Dahlia group: http://www.sqdahlia.qc.ca/ It has a good discussion on classification.

Here is the Link for the Dahlia Society in France: (Société française du dahlia, since 1928)
http://sfddahlia.free.fr/Menu.htm

Here is the American dahlia group's classification system, but their web site is not very good because their pictures are very poor quality, and are often out of focus and are not shown in the correct colours:

• http://www.dahlia.org/guide/

This link adds value by explaining what the classification system was trying to capture:

http://www.eurodahlia.com/dahlia-guide/beginners-guide-to-dahlia-classification


For a history of classification here is an view of the International Classification system.

The Royal Horticultural Society was asked to be the International Registrar for new Dahlias. Some of their publications are here.



Here is the British Dahlia group: http://www.dahlia-nds.co.uk/index.htm It's a great link for information on how the British do it. Now to actually name a Dahlia cultivar, you need to register the name you use using this form from the Royal Horticultural Society, and if all goes well it will be published in the International Dahlia Register --a paperback published by the Royal Horticultural Society. This page appears to be based on the International Dahlia Register.

Here is a page by the Dutch Dahlia registrar.



Rules for naming New Dahlias.

Don't miss seeing the real beauty by believing in any classification system. @!@#$!